Models Books

I work in the mining industry and most activities which are carried out in the mining industry involve an element of risk. Decisions must be made in a climate of uncertainty and the outcome is dependent on circumstances & events that in many cases are simply beyond the control of the decision-maker. The subjects of uncertainty and risk are thus highly topical in the mining industry today. This book is an excellent starting point for geologists and engineers who wish to get to grips with the conceptual and philosophical basis of uncertainty assessment as well as a sound source of information about the specifics of modeling and other techniques.

The authors use of the word 'policy' should not be a deterrent: this is a fundamentally technical book. They use the word policy to mean '...to evaluate, order and structure incomplete knowledge so as to allow
decisions to be made with as complete an understanding as possible of the current state of knowledge, its limitations and its implications'.

The book is set out logically and comprises:

1. An overview including philosophical frameworks, an extended discussion of the nature, types and sources of uncertainty, and an introduction to the required probability and statistical theory (Ch. 1-4);
2. A good summary of the state of research about 'human judgments of uncertainty' and performance of probability assessments (Ch. 6-7). The psychology of uncertainty assessments, notions of subjectivity,
methods of evaluating subjective risk scores, and discussion of the role of 'experts' are covered well. Readers interested in these topics might also want to obtain James Reasons' book 'Human Error' (1990,Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0 521 31419 4).
3. Two chapters on technical tools and approaches. Ch. 8 covers the propagation and analysis of uncertainty, and the following chapter gives good guidance on the graphical presentation of uncertainty.
4. Ch. 10 & Ch. 11 present discussion of large, complex policy models and some specific guidance on software,& are probably least interesting to a mining audience.
5. The final chapter (Ch. 12) is entitled 'the value of knowing how little you know' and includes presentation of methods for establishing the expected value of including uncertainty (EVIU).

The book is clearly written, well-informed and extensively referenced. It's a bargain.

Stochastic analysis, distributions, Monte-Carlo. All buzz-words whose meanings become clear with the aid of this vital tool.

As a graduate student of Dr. Gapenski's at Univ. of Florida 7 years ago I cannot begin to say how well this book prepared me to carry out sophisticated financial analysis for an $8 million revenue physician group, but also to refresh my memory of concepts to share with nonfinancial managers. A great text, complements his Intermediate Financial Management textbook perfectly. Also see books by William Cleverly at Ohio State and Ernest Pavlock (wrote the bible on physician group financial management).

Gapenski's book is the lead resource for the University of Texas "Alliance for Medical Management Education" modules on Health Care Contracting and Accounting and Finance. The book is an excellent resource, and is readable enough to be covered thoroughly and read by the physicians who comprise the student body.

EXCELLENT BOOK FOR REFERENCE LIBRARY. GREAT SET OF THREE VOLUMES. SERIOUS BOOK FOR SERIOUS COLLECTORS.

If you've been looking for a book that offers BOTH wartime photographs AND multi angle/ close up studies of uniforms from actual collections, this book (and the two other volumes from that trilogy) is EXACTLY what you need. More than just a splendid coffee table book, it is an outstanding source of information about the history/construction and regulation for each and every variety of uniform issued to the various branches of the SS ( both BEFORE and DURING WW2) and it is worth every single penny I invested in it. As a militaria dealer, I could simply not afford not to add it to my collection. If you are interested by that subject and don't have those 3 books, then you are missing an essential resource. If on the other hand you want to know the subject in depth and do not plan to buy each and every book on the market, you have to get THAT serie. My only regret is that Mr. Michael D. Beaver is no longer among us to share his amazing knowledge of German Militaria.

Gordon L. Rottman's US AIRBORNE UNITS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATER 1942-44 presents the first of three titles to examine the US airborne divisions of the second world war. The history, makeup and engagements of these early forces would change the outcome of the war.

The book was published by: Osprey Publishing. It was well written and is informative on the order of battle, training, unit organization and operations for the Airborne units that participated in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, during WWII.

Steven J. Zaloga's US FIELD ARTILLERY OF WORLD WAR II tells of a new generation of field artillery weapons and tactics born in the 1930s and used in World War II. With vintage photos and plenty of technical detail, US FIELD ARTILLERY OF WORLD WAR II provides a fine survey essential to any in-depth coverage of the equipment and strategies of the times.

The Field Artillery arm was one of the few areas that the US Army started out ahead of the Axis powers and stayed there. The Germans occasionally had bigger cannons, but the US system of command, fire control, and mobility allowed the American Army to mass fires from several units on a single target within minutes of receiving a request from front-line units. In this book Mr. Zaloga takes a technical look at the US Army's Field Artillery arm with much of the focus being on the weapons used. I ususal Osprey style the detailed text is supported by multiple photos, charts and several full-color drawings. The result is a one-stop reference on the guns and tactics used in WW2. The book is easy to read and well organized, the author is a recognized expert in military affairs and the price is quite attractive. Highly recommended to military historians, WW2 buffs, wargamers, and model-builders.

David Salsburg is a statistician with a good knowledge of the foundations of statistics as well as being a practical statistician with a great deal of clinical trials experience. In Chapter 1 he discusses randomized controlled clinical trials. Chapters 2-5 deal with foundational issues in probability and statistics. It leads to the conclusion that hypothesis testing is appropriate for clinical trials and statistical power against alternatives is an important concept for choosing appropriate test statistics but (1)for most practical problems uniformly most powerful tests do not exist and (2)powerful tests can only be found if one is able to meaningfully restrict the class of alternative hypotheses being considered.
In Chapter 6, Salsburg makes the case for restricted tests by providing a real clinical example. Special methods are then covered in the remaining chapters. Chapter 8 deals with resampling approaches including permutation methods and the bootstrap. In Chapter 10, Neyman's often neglected theory of restricted chi-squared tests, is presented.

This is a well written and unusual book that covers methodology not seen in very many biostatistics books. However, these techniques are very relevant to the clinical trials commonly conducted at pharmaceutical companies. It is an important reference source for biostatisticians.

Those interested in statistical theory and its foundational issues will find clear and concise coverage in the first 5 chapters. However if you want more, take a look at Salsburg's new book "The Lady Tasting Tea" which just came out in 2001. In that book he raises all the same issues and more in the context of discussing the great statisticians of the 20th Century.

David Salsburg is a statistician with a good knowledge of the foundations of statistics as well as being a practical statistician with a great deal of clinical trials experience. In Chapter 1 he discusses randomized controlled clinical trials. Chapters 2-5 deal with foundational issues in probability and statistics. It leads to the conclusion that hypothesis testing is appropriate for clinical trials and statistical power against alternatives is an important concept for choosing appropriate test statistics but (1)for most practical problems uniformly most powerful tests do not exist and (2)powerful tests can only be found if one is able to meaningfully restrict the class of alternative hypotheses being considered.

In Chapter 6, Salsburg makes the case for restricted tests by providing a real clinical example. Special methods are then covered in the remaining chapters. Chapter 8 deals with resampling approaches including permutation methods and the bootstrap. In Chapter 10, Neyman's often neglected theory of restricted chi-squared tests, is presented.

This is a well written and unusual book that covers methodology not seen in very many biostatistics books. However, these techniques are very relevant to the clinical trials commonly conducted at pharmaceutical companies. It is an important reference source for biostatisticians.

Those interested in statistical theory and its foundational issues will find clear and concise coverage in the first 5 chapters. However if you want more, take a look at Salsburg's new book "The Lady Tasting Tea" which just came out in 2001. In that book he raises all the same issues and more in the context of discussing the great statisticians of the 20th Century.

Good book with different modelling techniques.Contains a special chapter on figure painting. Tips on how to paint fleshparts, and some types of uniform are very helpful for both novice as experienced modeller.

This book not only shows the endless possibilities in this hobby, but also incorporates many easy to do tricks and tips to make your model just a little bit better. It also includes a dioramabuilding chapter which is easy to follow and very helpfull

Wow.

I've not done any plastic modeling in years, yet I still couldn't wait to crack open this incredible book. Like all the Verlinden books, the only problem is that they're too short! (And if they were a 1000 pages they'd still be too short!)

The six dioramas in this book are stunning in their depiction of scenes from World War II. The level of detail and weathering are superb, and the effort Mr Nossmann put in his work is evident throughout. I am an avid modeller and am always looking for inspiration in my projects, and the dioramas pictured in this book are very inspiring indeed. The armor and figure modelling are both first class, with incredible realism in the foliage, equipment, and individuals. Truly a must have for modellers who enjoy looking at well-built models, but be forewarned this book does not show the techniques, only pictures of the finished project. Nevertheless, I consider this an excellent addition to any WW II buff's or modeller's library.

Dans les bibliotheques on a toujours besoin de l'argent, des bibliothecaires, et des clients. Et les bibliothecaires, ce sont des pionniers..traditionnels! Savez-vous qu'a cause d'eux, et des citoyens genereux, toute chose electronique de la Bibliotheque du Congres est a la portee des internautes. Maintenant, sur des rayons des bibliotheques, a cote des livres, il y a des cassettes, des cd-roms, des videos, toute chose electronique. Maintenant, sur des tables, a cote des livres, il y a des ordinateurs. Mais plus ca change electroniquement, plus c'est la meme chose!

Selecting, processing and making available audio and video products, CD-ROM, and online reference are not traditional librarian jobs. But the digitized traditional library has different concerns. The virtual library still needs collection and public service librarians, catalogers, and information processing experts. It also needs the corporate sector, funding agencies, and information producers and providers: the Library of Congress digitized historical collections on limited Congressional funds and huge private fundraising. Librarians have a pioneering tradition: barcodes before grocery stores; book sorting and shelving robots in Europe; cooperative cataloging and indexing for decades; the ILL code in the 1930s; and self-checkout. So they can handle the traditional acquisition of property and the digital acquisition of rights while plugging away at storing, finding and getting out information. Peggy Johnson and Bonnie MacEwan see to it that libraries will be VIRTUALLY YOURS whether you are librarian, staff or user. The book joins up with Pat Ensor's THE CYBRARIAN'S MANUAL, Joan Giesecke's PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR LIBRARY MANAGERS, Robert S. Want's LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ONLINE, and Anne Woodsworth's PATTERNS AND OPTIONS FOR MANAGING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON CAMPUS.

This was an interesting book for the VW enthuiast. It showed some VW toys that I forgot existed, and which I found shortly after. Naturally, there is no way to put true value on these type of toys, but the numbers are a good basis for negotiations. All-in-all, a good book for the price.

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone who has ever been a fan of VW Beetles or VW Beetle toys. Matt Meyer has literally gone around the world to find some of the rarest pieces for this book. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of the Beetle.